Enough

Tribune readers and Facebook fans have taken to the social media site to voice their anger over the seeming lack of any political motivation to fix the Barton Highway.

Tribune
readers and Facebook fans have taken to the social media site to voice their
anger over the seeming lack of any political motivation to fix the Barton
Highway.

It has
been more than 30 years since the original plans to duplicate the Barton
Highway were drawn up, after long consultation.

Yass
Valley residents say they’ve had enough. They stated their reasons, via the
Tribune’s Facebook page, for wanting to ‘fix the Barton’.

Dozens
have taken to Facebook to tell their story.

“How
many more need to die on this road before our government will take it
seriously, what is the number?” asked Deanne.

“Do we
need to wait for the same statistics as the Princess Hwy to be noticed? Will it
be my husband or child next?”

Susan
said the number of commuter buses should be increased to take cars off the
road.

She
also noted the dangers of kangaroos, potholes and driving into and out of the
sun.

“And
unfortunately the new works themselves, when they finally arrive, seem to
prompt more ‘idiot drivers’ to speed on the other stretches. This needs to be
solved by all levels of government, RTA, police as well as drivers.”

Jacqui
observed that while the road is not the only thing to blame, a better road
would lessen the impact.

“It's
not just 1 thing that causes accidents...but what is needed to reduce the
likelihood of accidents is a better road that's wider and has more overtaking
lanes. We are talking about people's lives here!,” she said.

John
spoke of his years of experience driving all over Australia and overseas.

“Because
of traffic density and single lanes, the Barton ranks right up there in my
experience as some of the most risky conditions one can encounter,” he said.

“In
peak hour, in the rain, in fog or at night with kangaroos etc it demands a
tolerant attitude combined with exceptional alertness, concentration and
skills… Governments have failed miserably to provide a road that average
drivers can survive on. I've already passed on my thoughts to [Liberal
candidate for Hume] Angus Taylor.”

Dale
said nothing would be done on the Barton without political motivation.

“Nothing
will happen if it remains a safe political seat as there is no incentive for
local politicians to force the issue with their parties.”

Drivers
are also frustrated with the lack of solid traffic statistics from the Roads
and Maritime Services (RMS, formerly RTA).

Joan
did her own count which she said didn’t add up with the RMS statistics.

“So
how many actually travel Canberra to Yass pm? More than estimated by RTA.

“As I
travel that road daily and have since 1991, the numbers have increased 10-fold
in that time.”

Others
have used the hashtag #fixthebarton on Twitter to push politicians to find
funding for the upgrade.